STUDIA UBB GEOGRAPHIA, LXII, 1, 2017 (p. 87‐104) (RECOMMENDED CITATION) DOI:10.24193/subbgeogr.2017.1.07 THE ADMINISTRATIVE –TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION AND THE AGE OF SETTLEMENTS IN THE AREA OF CODRU DISTRICT SIMONA‐MONICA CHITA1 ABSTRACT. – The Administrative – Territorial Organisation and the Age of Settlements in the Area of Codru District. The geographical area of the District of Codru has been inhabited since ancient times, as archeological evidence has demonstrated, the oldest settlements dating back to the Neolithic, within an age range of 4500 and 2500 years. The area of the District of Codru was settled by free Dacians, as the Dacian coins found here give evidence. This microregion was not incorporated in the Roman province of Dacia. The arrival and departure of various peoples who ruled over this area have left their mark not only on locals’ life and history, but also on the administrative – territorial organization of the District of Codru. Successively, this area was organized into rural tribal plase communities, into principalities and voivodships (the microregion was part of the Voievodship of Transylvania), shires (during Hungarian rule), counties and (several communes forming a single administrative unit, in 1950), ministerial dircommunes ectorates (under Iuliu Maniu’s government in 1930s), into regions (made up of districts, towns and villages ‐ called ), finally, divided into counties, towns, communes and villages. All these changes the area of the District of Codru has undergone, together with all the various rulling of peoples coming and going across the ages have not altered the identity and authenticity of the inhabitants of the microregion Keywords:called the District of Codru. age of settlements, administrative‐territorial organization, the District of Codru . 1. INTRODUCTION Time passes incessantly leaving behind a history of events, a history which allows us to imaginarily travel back in its course, a history which mirrors a people’s past, with their joys, hardships, sufferings, victories, defeats or failures. The history of a nation is like an album of memories comprising collections of local history of all the settlements and places inhabited by th“Babeş‐Bolyai” University, Faculty of Geography, 400006 Cluj‐Napoca,at particular people. Romania, e‐mail: 1 [email protected] SIMONA‐MONICA CHITA Browsing Romanian people’s “history album”, Vasile Iuga of Sălişte stated: “Romanians’ history is one of a steadfast people, unitarily formed within the area of ancient Dacia. Within the natural borders of the Danube‐Carpathian‐Black Sea area the Romanian nation was formed and has permanently lived on this territory; our ancestors, the Geto‐Dacians, who made up an organic group of people belonging to the greater family of the Thracians, created, since the dawn of man, one of the great ancient civilisations, comparable to that of ancient Greeks, Persians or Romans” (Iuga, 2015, p. 91). Romanian people’s history has been marked by various ups and downs, the people living on this territory have been forced to fight in order to defend their motherland against those who intended to gain ownership of it. The District of Codru, located on both sides of Codru Ridge and Piedmont, has had a distinct history among those of other microregions/regions of Romania, this area playing the role of a transit zone, of a border territory separating different political realities since Dacian‐Roman times, as the “land” actually lay along the Roman limes. 2. METHODS AND DATA USED Several methods were applied in our research: literature review, data analysis, statistical methods, mathematical methods for data interpretation, cartographic methods (used for creating customized maps to render research data in a cartographic format) and synthesis. E3. TH AGE OF THE DISTRICT OF CODRU SETTLEMENTS It is common knowledge that since ancient times people preferred to settle in areas where nature provided food sources and shelter to protect from danger. Therefore the area alongside the Someş River Valley and Codrului Hillocks became a favourable region for people to settle and develop social communities since times immemorial and antiquity. To demonstrate the age of human settlements being established in the area of the District of Codru we took into account the archeological discoveries and historical documents which testify to the anthropization of the lands included in the District of Codru. As V. Băinţan also stated: “primitiveThe archeological diggings people inhabited the area several millenia ago...” (Băinţan, 2000, p. 303). carried out in the area have documented traces of material and spiritual life dating back to 2000 – 1500 BC. In the 19th century, at Stâna (1872) in the southern part of the area (near its borderline), 88 THE ADMINISTRATIVE –TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION AND THE AGE OF SETTLEMENTS IN THE AREA OF … an archeological deposit of bronze artefacts was discovered; it included spears, bracelets, Celtic axes. In the early years of the 20th century, at Beltiug, in the western part of the District of Codru, a new archeological deposit was discovered: it contained such artefacts as hatchets, axes, a pin and a dagger – all of them made of bronze. Also, other artefacts were unearthed: the axe with a disc and a nail – used as a fighting weapon (found at Homorodul de Jos), the deposit of five axes (at Medişa). The ancient settlements found at Necopoi and Homorodul de Sus belong to the Suciu de Sus culture. rd In 1960, at Corund, a bowl‐shaped pot (“terra sigillata”), from the 3 century BC was discovered. In 1964 and 1978, at Ghirişa, in the western part of our investigated area two treasure troves of Imperial Rome denari were found. The one discovered in 1964 contained 158 coins dating back from the reign of Vespasian (69 – 71 p.Hr.) to that of Septimius Severus (194 p.Hr.). The second trove consists of over 1000 coins dating back to a period starting from 71‐69 BC to 20 BC. Archeological research carried out on the territory of Oarţa de Sus (commune) shows that the oldest settlement dates back to the Neolithic period. On the hill of Oul Făgetului (Beechwood Egg), a Neolithic settlement belonging to the Tisa cultures was discovered, and on Măgurii Hill a Neolithic village belonging to the Tisa Polgar culture was unearthed. Along the same borderTogul Nemţilorline zone, dating back to the same historical age, other archeological discoveries were made in Unghiului Valley, in Bicaz village (the necropolis of ). Dating back to the early Neolithic age, as well as to the early Aeneolithic period, the settlements found on the territory of the Commune of Homoroade (involving the Starcevo‐ Cris culture in Homorodul de Jos village). To the Neolithic age belongs the ancient settlement found at Supuru de JosVâlceaua Rusului – Sentieului Hill, located on (The Russian’s Clearing) the high terrace of Crasnei River. A Neolithic settlement was also found on the territory of Oarţa de Jos, at the site of . To the Aeneolithic and the transition period to the Bronze Age belongs the settlement called Tiszapolgár, or, respectively, Coţofeni. Besides the Coţofeni type pottery, found in the approximately oval – shaped hut, earthenware pottery of Baden culture was also found there. The archeological research done on Oul Făgetului hill has revealed three stages of settlement: the bottomnd layer suggests a lifestyle belonging to the Suciu st de Sus 2 phase culture, the middle layer belongs to the Lăpuş 1nd phase grouping, whereas the top layer indicates traits of the 2 phase of Lăpuş culture. Some fragments of ceramics of Wietenberg type were also found. At the site named Făget large amounts of earthenware objects or fragments of objects were found, dating back to the late Bronze Age, grouped under the Lăpuş type of culture. In this area a relatively large number of objects of black and red ceramics, fragments of tall belly‐like shaped containers or pots, identical to those found in the first phase of the necropolis from Lăpuş (Kacsó, 2004, p. 54). 89 SIMONA‐MONICA CHITA Archeological evidence tracing back to the Bronze Age, belonging to the Suciu de Sus, Lăpuş group type of culture was also identified at the sites of Mânzata, Citere, Costişa, on the southern and south‐western slopes of Dealului Crucii (Cross Hill). On the territory of Bicaz village archaeological excavations unearthed a tumuli necropolis of the late part of the Bronze Age, a cemetery located on a prolonged ridge whose tumuli were built in two stages. The first stage consisted in building a 1metre high mound, in the middle of which a hole was dug. Few fragments of pottery objects were found in this hole. In the second stage, the smaller mound was covered, and kerbed around with earth filling. The fragments of pottery objects found in the tumulus investigated presented a black channel‐ shaped decoration on the outside, and were of a red colour inside. This necropolis consists of 33 tumuli organized in a semicircular shaped plan and represent the burial places of local kings (or leaders), huge burial monuments in the shape of “local pyramids”. At the boundary point of Valea Unghiului, in the area of Bicaz commune two bronze archaeological deposits were also found. The first trove weighed 226,155 kg and consisted of pickaxes with tapering blade and peen, spear tips, daggers, sword blades, hatchets, bronze cakes, fragments of a halfmoon fretted pendant with rod with a longitudinal punched line, fragment of a sickle with a rest of casting, whole bronze cakes and fragmentary bronze cakes, pieces of unprocessed bronze ingots, fragmentary chisels. The second deposit weighed 142,481kg and consisted of whole and fragmentary pickaxes with tapering blade and peen, the blade of a Darjna type axe, fragmentary daggers, a sword blade, whole and fragmentary sickles, with a cross eye and longitudinal decorative lines, fragments of wing‐flanged axe heads, spikes, diamond‐shape cross section bracelets, Gutenbrunn type pin, fragment of a fibula, bent halfmoon pendants, wide folded belt plate, various pieces of molten bronze, aggregated in a slag, copper alloy casting waste, pieces of unprocessed copper, a fragment of narrow‐width bronze strip, fragments of bronze cakes, etc.